Grip Tapes and Gekidasa Daze
by AtobeLover
Summary: Ryoma falls, hard. Jealousy rears its ugly head. Shishido doesn't get the short end of the stick. RyoRyou.


Title: Grip Tapes and Gekidasa Daze

By: AtobeLover

Summary: Ryoma falls, hard. Jealousy rears its ugly head. Shishido doesn't get the short end of the stick. RyoRyou.

Rated: T

Disclaimer: I don't own this wonderful series.

A/N: Yes. Shishido/Ryoma. What? Anyway, I'm sorry I broke apart Silver Pair for this. I don't know. I felt like writing it. Just. I love Silver Pair a lot but I wanted to see what RyoRyou would look and feel like. I think I like RyoRyou, but not as much as Royal. Speaking of Royal, Keigo makes an appearance, only to grin at Ryoma (like a lovesick boy)(maybe). Hope you like this. After so much present tense, I had trouble writing in past tense but hopefully this came out okay.

* * *

1.

Ryoma had always remembered Shishido Ryou as "one of the doubles players from Hyotei." Also, whenever he thought about him, he remembered a perpetual frown on his face.

The frown was still there when they ran into each other at a tennis equipment shop, and Ryoma snagged the last roll of high-quality grip tape, just like he'd done with Shinji, and smirked at the furiously speechless boy before going to the cashier.

"Mada mada dane."

Shishido didn't say anything, just grumpily shoved his hands into his shorts pockets and stalked off.

2.

The grip tape wasn't so high-quality after all, and Ryoma had problems using his racket, which only culminated in an ever so easy win for Nanjiroh, who cackled about it at dinner as he hid his magazine from Rinko.

"Che," Ryoma muttered, later in his bedroom, disappointed.

He went to return the roll to the shop, knowing full well it was a futile endeavor (he was secretly hoping to see that grumpy Hyotei player again, to dump the bad grip tape onto him, you know, he wanted it anyway).

He did find Shishido there, coincidentally, asking the shop manager how soon he'd get the tape he'd ordered the day before. Shishido looked annoyed on seeing Ryoma. But he turned his attention back to the manager.

Ryoma approached him.

"Hey."

Shishido, interrupted from his undoubtedly very important conversation with the manager, snapped, "What do you want?"

"This grip tape isn't that good."

What happened to pushing it onto him? Ryoma was the one to turn and stalk off that time, grip tape roll clutched tightly in his fist.

3.

Hyotei left no stone unturned when it came to holding a celebration party for Seigaku, and when it ended, Ryoma, after realizing all his Ponta dreams, stumbled out of the hall, sleepy and exhausted.

He didn't want to admit it, but he'd searched for the boy with the cap worn backwards more than once, and on not finding him, had been more than a little let down.

He didn't know why. It was stupid.

As he walked down the road, alone, somebody knocked into him and immediately apologized. Ryoma blearily looked at the perpetrator of the heinous crime. Ah, the boy with the backwards cap. Something fluttered in his stomach.

"Hm," he muttered in reply to Shishido's apology. "Why didn't you come to the party?"

"It was super lame, and I wanted to run." Ryoma didn't know why Shishido even answered him. Maybe in return for the kind act Ryoma'd done the other day at the tennis shop.

"We won the National Championship, y'know," Ryoma said.

"Yeah, and we'll make history when Hyotei defeats you guys next year."

Shishido was gone in a flash, running, and running.

4.

It wasn't even funny anymore, how much they kept bumping into each other, _everywhere. _Ryoma caught a glimpse of him at a carnival. Then at the arcade. Then the street tennis courts, but that was to be expected.

In due course of time, they ended up having a match to resolve whatever tension was crackling between them.

Ryoma wondered if Shishido would do well outside doubles.

Shishido did. Ryoma was forced to give it his all, because there was no way Shishido was going down without a fight.

Anyway, Ryoma won, 6-4. Going up to the net to shake hands with him, he commented, "I heard you used to have long hair."

Shishido scowled. "So?"

"Why'd you cut it?" It was obviously a touchy topic, which obviously meant that Ryoma was going to prod it.

Shishido didn't grace him with a reply.

The tension persisted. Ryoma didn't know its name or kind.

5.

When Ryoma came and sat down beside Shishido on the bleachers in Hyotei's tennis grounds, Shishido didn't really say anything, except, "Are you here to spy on us?"

"Please."

Atobe glanced over at Ryoma and smirked. Ryoma smirked back.

"Ah, I wonder if his hair will grow back the same way," Ryoma mused.

"Half of Hyotei hates you for doing that to him, just so you know."

"Which half do you belong to?"

"The half that doesn't give a shit about Atobe's hair."

Ohtori approached them then, and sat down. Shishido immediately launched into an animated conversation with him, and Ryoma, after sitting there, waiting for something, just _something_, got up and left.

6.

_Shishido and Ohtori_, Ryoma mused.

He wondered what they were to each other. Then he wondered why he cared.

Before he could have any epiphany of any kind, Eiji hooked an arm around him and yelled into his ear, "O-chibi! Someone's here to see you!"

"It hurts, Eiji-senpai." Ryoma struggled against Eiji's death grip and then asked, "Who is it?"

"Ah, Shishido Ryou from Hyotei, nya. I wonder why he's come." Eiji said, giving him a wide grin and walking off.

Ryoma tried not to run out of the courts.

7.

"You were right about the grip tape," Shishido admitted grudgingly.

"Is that all you came to say?"

"Maybe."

Ryoma wanted to ask whether he and Ohtori were a couple. But restrained himself, because he could feel the pounding that the walls of his world were taking, and those walls were cracking. He didn't know what would happen if they broke. He didn't know if he wanted them to break. Maybe he did.

"Oh, I also wanted to do this," Shishido said, and then promptly caught hold of the bill of Ryoma's cap and rotated it so it now pointed behind Ryoma.

Ryoma said, "Gekidasa daze."

Shishido flashed him a quick smirk and left.

8.

When they next met up, Ryoma snapped the bandage off from where it was on Shishido's left eyebrow.

"Mada mada dane," Shishido drawled in a good imitation of Ryoma.

9.

At the next tournament, Ryoma paired up with Momoshiro to play doubles against Shishido and Ohtori.

It wasn't like he had anything against Ohtori, who was a nice enough guy, really.

But no.

The epiphany concerning Shishido Ryou, delayed not-so-fortuitously by the boy himself, had come the night before, and Ryoma wanted to make his intentions towards Ryou clear in this match, by showing him his doubles tennis.

He and Momoshiro lost pathetically.

Ryoma didn't meet Shishido's eye when he left with his team.

10.

"You know, after the friendship that I swore we formed, you could at least try and talk to me."

"Che, whatever."

"Get that Ponta can away from your face, it's lame."

Ryoma looked sideways at Ryou, who was as furious as ever, and asks, "What do you want?"

"Why'd you even become friends with me if you were going to be a little shit like this later on? It's super lame, and I don't even understand what I did, and damn it, I can't focus on anything because I'm too busy thinking about it, and you, why did you do this?"

"I didn't do anything."

"Something happened."

"Something did," Ryoma agreed.

"What?"

"Don't know."

Shishido turned to leave, and Ryoma said, "Maybe I fell for you and realized you had already fallen for Ohtori."

Ah, jealousy. Ryoma didn't blame anyone but himself when Shishido walked away without a word.

11.

"I haven't."

"What?"

"Fallen for Choutarou. He's just my best friend."

"And you came all the way from Hyotei to tell me this?"

"Maybe."

Ryoma got the feeling a conversation like this had happened a month ago.

"And I also came to do this."

They were still kissing a couple of minutes later.

12.

"I want to see you with long hair."

"Long hair is super lame."

"Ryou."

"Ryoma."

"Mada mada dane," Ryoma scowled.

Shishido placated Ryoma with a kiss. Ryoma let himself be placated.


End file.
